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*Disclaimer: I’m not usually this emotional or this angry with my reviews and rants but How I Met Your Mother is a show very dear to my heart so warning for fan tears, anger, and vented frustration

WARNING – MANY SPOILERS BELOW

I wasn’t one of the viewers who followed How I Met Your Mother from the start of the pilot. I picked it up around season 6 during the airing of the Subway Wars episode. I was at my grandmother’s house and was flipping through channels looking for something to watch. Needless to say, I loved the episode and I instantly fell in love with the characters. I quickly printed out a master’s list of the episodes from season 1 and powered through until the end of season 6 till I was fully caught up. The next Mondays for the next three years of my life would be spent waiting eagerly for the new episode every night or for the download to be uploaded so I could catch up on my favourite show. And really, it was my favourite show. No matter what the writers did to the character or the plot or how much the story went upside down and inside out, I defended it to before critics and haters and I just loved it unconditionally because I had hope that the ending would turn out to be the greatest happy ending to the greatest love story ever told.

First of all, the mother’s name is Tracy McConnell.

Second, as sad as the first part of episode 23 was, I loved it because it had all those classic aspects of HIMYM that I loved and will always love. The part with Robin disappearing from the group was sad. Yes, it was. But things happen because we grow up and we grow apart, but we still need each other for “the big moments in life.” And I would have been happy if the story just ended at the yellow umbrella moment at the train station, or Ted and Tracy’s wedding or even at some moment with the gang just SITTING IN THE BAR.

The How I Met Your Mother ending was a cop-out and it was just mean and unfair to the fans who have been watching for such a long time. Season 1 showed us that Ted, despite his pursuits of Robin, could not have a relationship with her cause they were just really different people. Season 2 showed us that although Ted and Robin could establish a relationship, they had no future, which is why their relationship ended. Ted wanted kids and Robin wanted a career first before anything, these two values persist till the end. Season 3 and 4 showed us that you can’t force a wedding to happen if both parties aren’t into it. Everyone gets one, THE ONE, and Stella wasn’t the one for Ted, which is why it ended poorly. Season 5 saw Robin and Barney as a couple but ultimately both of them weren’t ready to be with each other. Season 6 tied up a lot of loose strings with Marshall and Lily while hinting Barney’s wedding at the very end. Season 7 and 8 taught Robin and Barney that they were really in love with each other and that they were meant for each other. ALL THAT STUFF FOR THE ENGAGEMENT! AND THEN TWENTY-TWO EPISODES TO TELL ONE FRIGGIN WEDDING. AND THEN AS BEAUTIFUL AS THE WEDDING WAS, BARNEY AND ROBIN GET DIVORCED AFTER THREE YEARS.

What’s worse is that after the divorce, Barney goes back to being the same womanizing scavenging sewer rat. Everything he learned from Robin about being full, and not broken and feeling loved and being in love was just shredded in the first twenty minutes of the HIMYM finale. At the same time, I thought Barney would remain single and just GROWN UP after losing Robin says “if it wasn’t gonna happen with Robin, then it’s just not gonna happen with anyone.” Fine. I cried a lot when Barney picked up his daughter. That was arguably THE MOST TOUCHING MOMENT OF THE SERIES. But SERIOUSLY. HOLD UP CAUSE WHO THE HELL IS THE MOTEHR OF HIS CHILD?!?!?! WHO WAS THE #31ST SKANK?!?!? (Initially I thought that he and Robin had gotten pregnant despite Robin’s inability to give birth. I had some slim chance and hope that it would happen or at least Robin would go back for her). I’m glad that Barney “ultimately” changed because the birth of his daughter BUT I THOUGHT ROBIN HAD ALREADY CHANGED HIM. They made Barney and Robin’s relationship a sham.

I wouldn’t have minded if Ted just ended the story with the death. HONESTLY, CONSPIRACY STORIES SPUN AND PREDICTED BY FANS SHOULD NEVER COME TRUE cause 1) It’s really sad and 2) This is a sitcom and it never ends well with the death of “the mother,” the woman we’ve all been waiting NINE YEARS TO SEE. We didn’t even get any touching death scene with the mother and the kids.

BUT THAT’S NOT THE WORST PART.

THE ABSOLUTE MOST ANNOYING THING WAS THAT TED AND ROBIN GOT BACK TOGETHER AT THE END. For all the stuff that Ted spouted to us about THE ONE and DESTINY and the PERFECT GIRL, he settled quite a bit at the end and the writers just took a pen and wrote the ending of the story into its grave. As if the divorce and the illegitimate child wasn’t awkward enough for Barney X Robin fans, Ted had to go and get that stupid blue French horn and find Robin at her apartment under her window again. I don’t understand why Ted and Robin had to end up together. It just proves that Ted’s first gut feeling of true love was right, and there was really no point in making the series anywhere past season 1.

Conclusion and Last Thoughts:

And still. After all that heartbreak and all those tears and despite that not perfect at all ending. I still love the series and I will always love this series.

I loved Ted’s first moments under Robin’s apartment with the blue French horn and that stupid cheesy lovestruck grin on his face.

I loved Ted’s crazy night out and the pineapple incident.

I cried at Marshall and Lily’s wedding.

The Slapbet was epic.

I loved Swarley.

I will never forget Robin Sparkles.

I watched the intervention episode at least 10 times.

I can quote every line from Season 6’s “Subway Wars” because it will always be my first and favourite episode of the series.

Season 4 Finale’s “The Leap” inspired me to go out and try new things

Girls vs. Suits was the most Legen-wait for it- DARY episode.

I rooted for Barney’s perfect week.

I re-watch Season 5’s “Homewreckers” whenever I feel lost in life.

Barney and Robin were perfect together. They had an amazing wedding and they will always be perfect for each other in my heart.

Season 8 was my least favourite season but I still loved all the buildup for Season 9.

If my wedding weekend is as crazy as Barney and Robin’s, I’ll be happy.

In the end, if How I Met Your Mother has taught us anything, it’s that life is really more about the journey, its hardships, successes, the lessons and the people you share it with, rather than the ending.

What did you guys think of HIMYM? Loved the series hated the ending? Loved the series and ending? Annoyed that the series ran so long? Or are you an unconditional HIMYM fan like me? Let me know in the comments and thank you so much for reading and venting with me.

Hey guys, to kick off the month of March, I wanted to start with a REALLY AWESOME, KICKASS, ACTION, RACING, EPIC MOVIE called REDLINE. It was originally produced and released by Madhouse in 2009. The genre is science fiction and racing. The style of art is vibrant and rough. And animation is stunning. I’m not usually a big fan of Japanese animated films unless they’re made by the god of animation, Hayao Miyazaki or it’s a movie attached to one of my favourite series (and even then, I’m still reluctant to give it a chance) but Redline is definitely an exception.

Rating: 5/5 MUST WATCH CLOUDS

Redline was introduced to me through some anime club friends. The first time I watched it was at a club screening last year and recently I had the pleasure of showing it to other friends at one of our recent screenings. The plot in Redline has all your classic race elements. Mechanic and racer team up to enter the circuit, one of them (the mechanic in this case), gets into shady underhanded dealings with big business mafiamen and the racer has to throw races in order to help his buddy pay back debt and keep his life.

Our main man of the movie is Sweet JP (WHO HAS THE COOLEST HAIR EVER) and his mechanic is Frisbee. Most of the characters are aliens, humans and other weird creatures, so this world isn’t a big issue. When the plot opens up, JP is racing down the Yellowline track. A few feet before the finish line, his car blows up and he loses the chance to qualify for Redline. Later, however, whilst JP is recovering in the hospital, two of qualified racers for Redline decided to drop out for political and personal reasons since Redline will take place on the martial ruled Roboworld this year. As a result, JP and another racer is nominated on a popularity vote to compete in Redline. The entire story is based around this opening premise.

The story was written by Katsuhito Ishii and directed by Takeshi Koike. The story and its plot while simple enough to follow isn’t super original. The five out of five clouds stickler is really the FANTASTIC art style, the animation and just the enjoyment level. Redline moves at a breakneck fast pace and when you’re not sitting on the edge of your chair cheering for JP or Sonoshee to reach the finish line, your eyes are darting everywhere on the screen just taking in all the details put into supporting characters and backdrops. Every single character is visually unique and when I say every single character, I mean every single character because every single character in the audience is some weird amalgamation alien thing from a billion different races. Some moments are random and there is almost no character development but you’re mostly watching it for the ACTION ACTION ACTION because even if you’re not a fan of this rough and tumble kind of animation, you have to give Madhouse MAJOR MAJOR PROPS for being COMPLETELY HAND DRAWN, taking almost seven years to complete.

My comfort zone is sparkly shojo, smooth and soft pastel animation, much like what you see in Kyoukai no Kanata’s art produced by Kyoto Animation HOWEVER, watching this movie was one of the best things I’ve ever been coerced into watching. The simplistic story of the plot just makes Redline all the more enjoyable what with its cinematography and music (by James Shimoji), it’s like you’ve hopped onto a kickass rollercoaster for 102 minutes.

There’s really not much else for me to say about Redline other than it’s one of the movies worth watching more than once and it’s something you’ve got to see instead of read about it. Go watch it now!! Go!!

Hey guys, I decided to write a review on the 2009 version of Dorian Gray that I recently watched with one of my Latin buddies. It a few years old and I desperately wanted to see it in theatres but just never ended up finding a friend to go with and then schoolwork got in the way and you know how it is in high school, things just go in one ear and out the other, so the Dorian Gray movie slowly faded into one of the “should have gones” in my cinema history.

“Some things are precious because they don’t last.” – Basil

If you’re familiar with the story or have read Oscar Wilde’s original novel first published in 1890, you’ll know that the ending of the movie is slightly altered, probably for dramatic purposes. However, the sentiments of the story and its wide ranging themes themes are all prominently presented through rich and symbolic cinematography. Basically, the story follows a young man named Dorian Gray who’s returned to his late grandfather’s estate to inherit what’s left of it. He makes friends with a man named Henry Wotton who introduces him into the social gatherings of the upper class and whom encourages Dorian to fully embrace his emotions, temptations and live a life of pleasure. When the artist Basil Hallward paints a portrait of Dorian, the young aristocrat is astonished at the youth and beauty in the portrait. Wotton remarks that the man in the portrait will last while the man outside the picture will wither and die someday. Dorian offers that he might “nail my soul to the devil’s altar” in an exchange for eternal youth. Slowly but surely, Gray begins to life a life of mere pleasure and with his soul trapped in the painting, he revives from each and every indulgent ordeal untouched and unscathed while the Dorian in the picture begins to deteriorate and rot. Years later, Dorian has come to realize that everything comes at a sacrifice and he’ll need to pay his dues one day…

Main Cast…

Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray

Colin Firth as Lord Henry Wotton

Rebecca Hall as Emily Wotton

Ben Chaplin as Basil Hallward

Rachel Hurd-Wood as Sibyl Vane

Johnny Harris as James “Jim” Vane

It’s really hard to place other characters as part of the main cast aside from Barnes and Firth who appear from beginning to end. The art direction is absolutely gorgeous and reflects the gothic Victorian atmosphere of Wilde’s original novel. I loved seeing the story retold as a whole, but I could do without a lot of the portrayals of the hedonist sexual activities that Dorian engages in as he descends deeper and deeper into, well, hell.

I realized I kept fangirling over Ben Barnes as a celebrity, rather than Ben Barnes as Dorian Gray. He does make an extraordinary dashing Victorian Englishman however I found it really hard to detach his image from his role as Prince Caspian. I really wanted to see more evocative acting especially during Dorian’s most morally conflicting moments. As a fan of Ben Barnes, he wasn’t hard to look at throughout the film since he doesn’t age nor does he injure or scar from any of his wild nights but I would have liked to see more internal moral struggle versus all the kinky stuff he does in search for pleasure.

Colin Firth was particularly interesting in his role as Henry Wotton. He really made me hate him when he was pressuring the young and innocent Dorian into opium dens and lavish parties. At the same time, Wotton’s transition from social party animal to hedonist poser living vicariously through Dorian to level-headed doting father in his later years really impressed me. Firth’s versatile acting makes his character one of the most intriguing figures of the movie.

I hope you guys enjoyed this review, just on a surface level of enjoyment, it was a nice interlude from my usual anime series and the Chinese dramas that I’m use to. I normally don’t watch movies a lot because I like getting to know characters through an extended period of episodes and events rather than have their entire life told to me in the span of about two hours. As a result, I’m not usually up to date with the whole movie scene and what’s trending in cinemas and box offices.

Hey guys! I had the amazing opportunity to attend the season premiere preview twenty minute screening of Once Upon a Time in Wonderland. It begins with Alice, stuck in an insane asylum. Despite her past adventures in Wonderland and the proof she’s brought back for her father, he disbelieves her stories and sends her into a medical facility. After the death of her beloved Genie Cyrus, she’s set on forgetting everything about Wonderland in order to forget the pain and loss that came after. However, when the White Rabbit and the Knave of Hearts come bringing news of Cyrus’ survival, Alice is ready to get back into the game in search for her true love.

Starring…

Sophie Lowe as Alice

Michael Socha as the Knave of Hearts

Peter Gadiot as Cyrus the Genie

John Lithgow as the voice of the White Rabbit

Emma Rigby as the Red Queen

Jonny Coyne as Dr. Lydgate

Naveen Andrews as Jafar

Barbara Hershey as the Queen of Hearts/Cora

If you guys are fans of Alice in Wonderland, as I am, you’ll love the series. The special effects are really well done, the art direction for Wonderland is really vibrant and detailed from what I’ve seen for far. The first episode airs on October 10 so be on the lookout for that soon!

Hey guys! The best part of my FanExpo experience this year has to be meeting Stephen Amell and going to his panel and hearing him talk. For those of you who don’t know, Amell plays Oliver Queen on the hit superhero series Arrow based on the superhero Green Arrow. I’m so proud that such a great and talented actor is Canadian. If you guys haven’t seen the series, season 1 just finished in May so definitely go check that out! I think I’m both equal superhero fan and Stephen Amell fangirl. He’s just so badass as the vigilante!! He’s definitely my favourite actor out there!

Please credit me and link my blog if you use my photos! Thanks for dropping in!

“In the spring of 2013, we were all tying up loose ends before the big wedding…”

The episode begins with Ted who is putting the finishing touches on the house he bought way back in Season 5. Barney and Robin are wrapping up their final rehearsals for their first dance. Lily and Marshall are packing to move to Italy when Judy (Marshall’s mother), suddenly calls. Lily mentions the move to Italy, thinking Marshall had already broken the news to his mother and Judy freaks out. She demands to see her grandson before they move and Marshall agrees to visit Minnesota with Marvin for a week while Lily stays in New York to finish packing. Lily, thrilled that she doesn’t have to take care of her son for a week, accompanies Ted to his newly renovated house.

Barney and Robin are at a restaurant to celebrate wedding planning is done… until they run into an obnoxious couple that’s just revealed themselves to be Barney and Robin’s arch-nemesis. They spend the duration of the night plotting to break them up and it’s so cute to see how completely compatible and evil they are together.

Marshall is happy to home but Lily panics in New York as Judy jokes about not letting Marshall and Marvin leave. Ted tells Lily not to jump to conclusions.

Then, Ted shows Lily the new house, where she gushes about Ted’s future in the house with a wife and kids. But when Lily finds a “For Sale” sign, Ted confesses that he is selling the house because moving to Chicago. Lily insists that Ted’s future bride is in New York but Ted doubts.

“I’ve looked. I’ve look high and low for someone I can love and adore, and cook waffles for. The closest I’ve come is Marshall.”

Ted tells Lily that he is going to leave the day after the wedding. She realizes that Ted is leaving because he thinks that the love of his life (Robin) is in New York, but in a week, she will be married to his best friend (Barney.) Lily gets a call amidst the dramatic conversation from Marshall and he reassures her that the plan to move to Italy is solid… After he hangs up, he gets a call from the New York State judiciary who offers him a position as a JUDGE. OMG!!

Robin uses the ring-in-the-champagne scheme to break up her and Barney’s arch nemesis couple. But it’s through the fight that the evil couple has decided to get engaged and thank Barney and Robin. Barney and Robin are happy, basking in coupledom. They’re just so darn perfect for each other.

Flashing back to Ted and Lily, he tells her about his moment with Robin in Central Park and Lily tells Ted that she knows where the locket is. A few years ago, before Ted and Stella were going to get married, Lily finds Robin drunk at the bar, upset over Ted’s engagement. Drunk Robin stumbles out the bar and into Central Park to look for her “something old.” After Lily has brought Robin back to the apartment, Lily places the locket in the race car pencil box for Robin to take with her to Japan. I guess after Robin sobered up, she forgot everything about that night.

Ted tells Lily that the pencil box is in his apartment on his desk and decides that it would be “the best wedding gift ever.” Lily tells Ted to be careful… and we flash forward to Friday of that week, 56 hours before the wedding. Ted’s current apartment is emptied out as he readies his luggage for Chicago. Everyone seems starry-eyed for their imminent new chapter in life. Barney and Robin are also in the process of grabbing their luggage to drive to their wedding venue. RANJIT COMES BACK AS BARNEY AND ROBIN’S DRIVER!

In Minnesota, Marshall is being driven to the airport by his brother.

“You still haven’t told her?”

“No, this is face to face news”

“Good luck with that, your honour.”

Ted and Lily are about to drive to the wedding venue together. He asks her not to tell the others about his Chicago plans and that he is planning on taking the train back to the city. Flash into the train station, where a petit brunette is walking up to the ticket booth. And after almost ten years of storytelling, THE MOTHER IS FINALLY REVEALED! She smiles and asks for a ticket to Farhampton before the episode ends.

Based on what first impressions, Cristin Milioti is cast perfectly as the mother. She can definitely pass off as the mother of Ted’s future kids played by Lyndsy Fonseca and David Henrie. She’s holding the yellow umbrella so she’s definitely the one and the cowboy boots are a nice touch! She’s perfect for Ted!

I can’t wait for season 9 and I hope that Ted will finally be able to completely give up on Robin after meeting the mother. I can’t wait for Barney and Robin’s wedding!!

If you guys enjoyed this review please click like or follow! Thanks for reading!

Hey guys! Welcome to Cloudy’s Cinema! A category on the blog where we review movies, films and plays, anything to do with drama, stage or cinematic production. And now the first movie to be reviewed here is Iron Man 3! I went to see this with one of my guy friends and at the end of the movie he turned to me and asked, “5 out of 5 happy clouds?”

It was an epic moment.

… And then his car battery died and we got stranded outside the theater. (No joke)

BUT REGARDLESS, it was a great.

“Things are different now, I have to protect the one thing that I can’t live without. That’s you.” (Tony to Pepper)

The movie was capped from beginning to end with Tony Stark’s narratives which provided a lot of insight to Tony’s personality behind the “billionaire philanthropist playboy” demeanour of nonchalance. I loved the connection with Marvel’s previous film, The Avengers and the psychological aftermath as one of Stark’s personal obstacles as he continues as Iron Man.

BEWARE SOME SPOILERS BELOW!!

For starters, it’s interesting to see Tony on his own, especially in Tennessee when he’s hundreds of miles away from all his equipment without JARVIS as his butler/assistance. Even without all the little toys, Tony is still a force to be reckoned with, making use of the most mundane tools and materials found at the local hardware store. When he infiltrates the baddies’ Miami quarters, he looks more like a secret agent akin rather than a red and gold crime fighting hero, but it looks like he’s capable with or without the suit… and always has a trick up his sleeve. What’s even more badass is that during his late night technology escapades due to anxiety and insomnia, he’s developed several different versions of the Ironman suit which come in handy down the road…

Always a pleasure to see the recurring cast, especially Gwyneth Paltrow (recently voted world’s most beautiful woman) as Pepper Pots. She’s definitely one-of-a-kind, I mean; she has to be, to be Iron man’s leading lady. She truly loves Tony and despite being cool and collected on a regular, she is devastated when she’s at the site of their home and her newly-lit face full of hope when she puts on the helmet and hears Tony’s voice mail.

And she is probably the most kickass heroine to date in the Marvel series.

Much different from Scarlett Johansson’s character: Natalia Romanova/ the Black Widow from The Avengers who was introduced as a Russian spy trained in the art of interrogation and killing, When Tony’s backed into a corner by the main baddie, Aldrich Killian, Pepper steps out of the damsel-in-distress male-dominated world of superheroes to score a full ten out of ten for the females!

Hope you guys enjoyed the first review of Cloudy’s Cinema. Like or follow for more to come!

Hi everyone! We’re back with more How I Met Your Mother. They packed A LOT of action and plot development into these three episodes and a also a lot of heart. The season finale airs on May 13 and I couldn’t be more excited! With Barney and Robin’s wedding nearing, Ted and his future wife are being pulled closer and closer by the hands of fate. Let’s see what happens so far!

Episode 21 – Romeward Bound- Life’s getting good for Lily and Marshall. Lily was making a name as an art consultant and Marshall was a superstar environmental lawyer until one day, the Captain’s offer to move to Rome tips the balance in their lives. Ted spots a girl from her yoga class who has a RIDONKULOUS body. However, this girl has a tendency to wear a giant winter jacket even in high temperature bars (cough* thanks Barney). Ted and Barney spend the duration of the episode trying to figure out eventually coercing Robin into their schemes after Robin reveals yoga class girl- Liddy as their wedding planner. Lily struggles with the decision to move to Rome and how to tell Marshall. When Marshall hangs up on Lily due to his work at the law firm, she realizes that he might become existentially miserable in life at home with baby Marvin as Lily focuses on her art career. Lily first decides to turn the offer from the Captain. Being unemployed, Lily visits Marshall at work and discovers that the office has been going downhill since the Gruber Pharmaceutical Case. When Lily confesses of her decision to turn down the Captain’s offer, Marshall rushes out to convince the Captain to give her another chance. Back at the bar, it’s Robin’s obsession with Liddy under the coat reinforces Barney’s love for her.

Robin encourages Ted to ask Liddy out, but he tells them that the sight of her body in yoga class was “just too much.” That it was “a body that would melt a Nazi’s face.” Barney points out that if Marshall was here, his male pheremonal stink free tone could innocently ask Liddy to take her coat off because of Marshall’s unconditional devotion to one woman. Robin points out that Barney is in the same position as Marshall and asks Liddy to take off her jacket, revealing to the couple that her body was RIDONKULOUS. The captain calls Lily again at their apartment and she turns him down again. Barney, Robin and Ted are shocked. Lily confesses that she is afraid of utterly failing in Rome. Ted advises Barney not to be speak so freely about other single women in front of Robin and Barney calls out Ted on this, speaking rather aggressively and protectively. Marshall and Lily have a heart-to-heart about Rome. It’s sweet and touching how much Marshall and Lily understand each other even as Marshall says the same sentence over and over again in Italian. They make the final decision to move! Yay! When Barney returns to his apartment, he finds Robin in a giant jacket ready to seduce him.

Episode 22 – Bro Mitzvah- “Kids, this is the story of the night Barney’s life completely fell apart.” This episode is about Robin’s play to give Barney the best bachelor party ever. It begins with Barney and Robin preparing for a dinner with Barney’s mom. When Barney goes to drop off their wedding deposit, he gets kidnapped by Marshall and Ted for his surprise bachelor party. It turns out that three weeks earlier, Barney points out that Marshall, Ted and Robin would not and cannot plan good bachelor parties, saying that they will disappoint them but asking them to try their best. Marshall and Ted take Barney to a hotel outside Atlantic City because of his addiction to one Chinese gambling game.

Flashback to ten months ago when Barney was engaged to Quinn; at the bar, he presents the Brorah that shows the gang every awesome thing to have at a bachelor party. Marshall and Ted brings a clown to the party. Robin realizes that Barney has told his mother that Robin is virgin. Lily appears at the bachelor party to deliver another of Barney’s bachelor party requests, the Karate Kid (Ralph Macchio) who Barney hates because he misinterprets every movie he watches. Ted points out that Ralph Macchio and Barney are a lot alike. Then the stripper arrives… and it turns out to be Quinn (OUCH). Quinn is hurt and disappointed when she finds out that Barney is engaged to Robin. She agrees to strip for everyone except Barney. Robin calls Barney as Barney’s mother has gotten drunk at the restaurant. Barney gets disappointed at his bachelor party and drives everyone back to the party. Ralph Macchio goads Barney into gambling at Atlantic City. He ends up losing 80 000 dollars. On the drive back, Barney reveals to Lily that he used Marshall as credit for money.

Ted gets angry about Barney for caring about the good times more than the friends. Robin meets Barney at the entrance of their apartment building confronts Barney for abandoning her on the worst night of her life. Robin is furious at Barney for having Quinn as their stripper and breaks off the engagement. Then after Robin walks away, she calls Ted and tells him that they are right on schedule, squealing with Quinn in delight as they meet up. The gang brainstormed a play called “The Barney” to give Barney the worst night of his life which ends with Marshall having his hand chopped off by the Chinese mobsters (gets a little bloody) before the mobsters drag Barney back up to his apartment and surprises him. He looks almost enraged, but then he calls the night AWESOME and hugs Robin who planned out every detail. Barney points out that they didn’t get everything on the list because of Ralph Macchio. The clown reveals himself to be William Zabka, which completely Barney’s perfect bachelor party.

Episode 23 – Something Old- The episode begins with Robin in her 1994 when her father has brought her to New York on a father-son bonding trip. In Central Park, Robin secretly buries a locket to be her “something old” on her wedding day in the future. Flashing into the present, Robin and her father have arrived at Central Park intending to find the locket but Robin Sr. gets called to laser tag to bond with his new son and Robin is left to search for her locket on her own. At the same time, Lily and Marshall are preparing for their trip to Italy by packing what they need and tossing out what they don’t to the Burmuda Triangle, the sidewalk just outside their apartment where things mysteriously disappear. They enlist Ted’s help in the process but when Ted’s bias for keeping their memories gets in the way, the three dispute over the decision to throw out or keep their first bean-bag chair in the apartment. Barney and Robin Sr. bond over laser tag and over a dispute to be Point Guy on their team, they split ways and wage laser tag war on each other. Robin continues to frantically dig for the locket in Central Park. Lily and Marshall trick Ted out of the house to get rid of the beanbag chair. Everyone seems too busy to help Robin. When Ted finally decides to let go of his little obsession with the beanbag chair and the past, he heads off to their interview. It was sweet and nostalgic to see the flashback of Ted, Marshall and Lily in their first days in the apartment with the beanbag chair that was their single piece of furniture.

“Kids, you can’t cling to the past because no matter how tightly you hold on, it’s already gone.”

Robin finally calls Ted to ask for his help but refrains from doing so when he tells her that he has a big meeting (an interview for another possible building). Ted ends up missing the interview to find Robin at the park. Despite Robin’s “Nah, it’s stupid” phrase, Ted knows that it’s Robinese for “It’s important.” Robin points out that she didn’t need to tell Ted what was bothering her but he came, whereas Barney was off playing laser tag. She then confesses her doubts about the wedding due to her inability to find the locket she buried years ago. When she finally finds the box, but the locket is gone, she believes it to be a sign from the universe confirming her fears about marrying Barney.

At laser tag when Barney and Robin Sr. make up, they go back to terrorizing the other laser tag players. Marshall and Lily text Ted a photo of them and the beanbag chair; Ted finally asks them to throw it out. Robin points out that Ted is “universe guy” who looks for signs everywhere and Ted tells Robin that she is “skeptic girl’ so she shouldn’t believe in such nonsense. It starts to rain and Ted continues to persuade Robin that she is doing the right thing by marrying Barney.

“Maybe there aren’t any signs. Maybe a locket’s just a locket; a chair’s just a chair. Maybe we don’t have to give meaning to every little thing. Maybe we don’t need the universe to tell us what we really want, maybe we know that, deep down.”

Robin holds Ted’s hand as the rain lets off a little… and the episode ends.

I am seriously going to have a conniption if the Ted and Robin stuff comes up again. I hope it doesn’t, because I truly believe that Ted and Robin are perfect for each other. The season finale must round back to the beginning so I’m really curious as to see what happens…

AHHH! We are almost done our season 8 recap thus far! Remind me never to do recaps ever again… or at least, not 20 episodes all at once.

Episode 16 – Bad Crazy- It’s hilarious when future Ted narrates and tells us that Jeanette was the girl who finally made him want to settle down… cause she showed Ted just how crazy and weird single-life got. Now, Ted has to figure out how to break up with Jeanette with getting killed (quite literally). “Cray cray gotta go bye bye befo’ you get stab stabbed.” Robin struggles with her fear of holding Baby Marvin. Ted learns that breaking up with someone isn’t always that easy… especially when Jeanette locks herself in Ted’s room in a fit of rage. Robin panics in having to take care of and pick up Marvin for a few minutes while Lily runs after a bus to grab his binky.The flash-forwards get more and more ridiculous as Robin reveals more and more of the story years after years when finally it is revealed that Mike Tyson was the passerby who picked up and rocked Marvin back to sleep. When the gang meets up with Ted at his apartment, Jeanette is still in Jeanette’s room. Robin tells Ted that the girl’s craziness is probably a consequence of the guy’s actions. Lily finally advises Ted to go be with Jeanette, and when he’s finished going through his own crazy phase, the rest of the gang will be there for him.

Episode 17 – The Ashtray- The episode begins with a voice message to Ted from the Captain. He panics when he thinks the Captain means ill-will from the message, since Ted awkwardly bumped into him at an art-showing a year and a half ago. Turns out that Ted has a “sandwich” before he attended the gallery. Ted’s memories of the incident are all jumbled up and he remembers the Captain attempting to kill him with a harpoon gun. (LOL) Barney insists that whenever crazy stories happen, he’s always present. The gang finds out that the Captain wants Robin’s number to which Robin confronts the boys for giving the Captain her number without telling her. Robin then gives her version of the story, reminding Ted of his incoherence at the time. She remembers the Captain hitting on her as well as the fact that she saved Ted from breaking a priceless crystal ashtray. Even further on, Robin finds out that the Captain is actually looking for Lily. Lily then gives her version of the story, reminding the gang that Ted was high and Robin was drunk from having done shots at a bar before the art-showing. After a slight dispute between Lily and the Captain, she steals his crystal ashtray in the name of Aldrin Justice. When Marshall freaks out about Lily’s little crime, we find out that the quarrel between Lily and the Captain reminded Lily of her unfulfilled dreams in art. When Lily returns the ashtray, the Captain shows her the painting they disputed over, and praises her for her keen art eye. He offers her a job as an art consultant and she accepts.

Episode 18 – Weekend at Barney’s- Barney and Robin continue to deal with Barney’s transition from single life to fiancé couple life. Ted returns his wedding invitation to Robin. The gang continues to persuade Ted to break up with Jeanette before the wedding. After Ted and Jeanette fight, Ted decides to get her back. Lily heads to a new art gallery with Marshall as her sidekick to schmooze a new up and coming artist. Marshall finds out that he’s having much harder time fitting into the art world than Lily. Barney attempts to help Ted hook up with girls with plays from the Playbook that Barney didn’t actually burn (a few episodes ago). After, Robin finds out that Barney hasn’t really burnt the playbook. Jeanette finds Ted at the bar and they get back together. Marshall bonds with the new artist over Teenage Mutant Ninja turtles and aids Lily in her work. Barney and Robin finally work out their differences and come to an understanding of Barney’s tendency to lie due to his passion as a magician. Barney turns out to be such a great fiancé! When Jeanette finds the playbook at Ted’s apartment, she kicks him out and proceeds to throw all of his things out in a destructive frenzy. Barney allows Jeanette to burn the Playbook, symbolizing the last fading part of Barney’s single life and his devotion to Robin and their future. Ted crosses out Jeanette’s name on Robin and Barney’s wedding invitation and proclaims that he is finally ready to settle down. Jeanette sets fire to the red cowboy boots and chucks them down to the gang. (LOL)

Episode 19 – The Fortress- Barney and Robin are now weeks away from their wedding! Robin talks to Barney about their future place and they dispute about the strange little gadgets and features of his apartment. Ted gets really obsessed with the show: Woodworthy Manor. Marshall is feeling a little neglected due to Lily’s new demanding job in the art world. He promises to wait for her before watching the new episode of Woodworthy Manor. Barney attempts to bestow his apartment to Ted as a giant floating head (reference to Superman and Wizard of Oz LOL). Ted and Marshall watch Woodworthy Manor without Lily. Robin puts up Barney’s apartment for sale. (ANGRY SELF-FIVE RAWR!) It gets increasingly harder to sell the apartment as the prospective tenants discover the history of Barney’s personal life. Marshall and Ted pretend to be a gay-married couple to prove a point to Lily. Marshall, Ted and Lily talk out their real/fake couple problems XD Barney tell Robin that he is willing to give up the apartment to be with Robin. After talking to the prospective couple and discovers that the stuffy couple is going to destroy Barney’s inventions in the apartment. Robin kicks them out. (WHAT UP!!) Ted hooks up with yet another single girl who he met at Barney’s apartment. The episode ends with Marshall, Lily and Ted introducing Woodworthy Manor to Robin and Barney… the couple escape tube down the garbage chute under Barney’s kitchen sink. (Another one of his previous innovations)

Episode 20 – Time Travelers- Future Ted tells his kids that in April 2013, he and their mother was very close, yet very far. We learn just exactly where Ted is in his life as he struggles with his decision on whether or not to attend Robots versus Wrestlers Legends. Marshall creates a new fruity cocktail called the Minnesota Tidal Wave. It turns out that Maclaren’s has already named the Robin Scherbatsky due to Robin’s regular orders. Ted debates with Barney, twenty-years-from-now Barney, twenty-years-from-now Ted, twenty-hours-from-now Ted, twenty-minutes-from-now Barney and twenty-seconds-from-now Barney. Twenty-seconds-from-now Barney convinces Ted to talk to the Coat-check girl who he met around the first two seasons of the show. Carl finds out that Marshall doesn’t know his last name. PresentTed is stopped by two versions of twenty-months from now Coat-check girl who tells him that their potential relationship will crash and burn after a few months. Lily allows Marshall to dance battle Robin over the drink. Ted realizes that he has been talking to an imaginary Barney. The Minnesota Tidal Wave dispute happened five years ago. Marshall and Lily are upstairs with baby Marvin while Robin and Barney are trying to decide on a caterer. It turns out that Ted’s actually been sitting alone debating over a single ticket to Robots versus Wrestlers because everyone was too busy. Ted realizes he’s alone and through a flashback/imagination of future/present Ted, he runs to The Mother’s apartment and tells her he’d give anything to have a few extra days with her.

Phew… the recaps are donezo! Episode 21 comes out on April 29… two more days!! I hope you’re just as excited as I am!

Hi everyone, I hope you haven’t forgotten me! Today we’re recapping episodse 11-15 of How I Met Your Mother Season 8. As Robin and Barney work out their awkward situation, Ted’s GNB building is finally being revealed! But Ted reflects on Robin one last time and can he really give his blessing to Barney and Robin? Sorry I’ve been gone for so long, but exams are just soo demanding.

Episode 11 & 12 – The Final Page– A LOT happens in these two episodes… but it begins, with a jinx. Marshall jinxes Barney, who hasn’t been jinxed for a long time but has tortured the rest of the gang with his own jinxes. In the winter of 2012, as Ted’s GNB building is about to revealed, he contemplates his younger days in class and his numerous attempts to prove his talent and creativity to Professor Vinick at Wesleyan university. The gang teases Ted’s obsession with Vinick as Ted’s “Pit Guy” like in the Silence of the Lambs. Likewise, Lily points out that Patrice is Robin’s pit guy and Marshall reveals that he and Lily would be pit people of their creepy university “friend” Daryl. Barney begs Marshall and Lily to unjinx him. Robin is given a chance to fire Patrice at work. Ted drags Marshall, Lily and Barney to Wesleyan in his endeavour to prove himself to Vinick… sadly revenge fantasies never turn out the way you want them to, especially those in red cowboy boots. When Daryl brings Marshall, Lily and Barney to his basement to show them something, paranoia takes over and Marshall finally confesses to Daryl that he and Lily are not his friends. In the end, Daryl realizes that he does not need the validation of others to measure his self-worth. Ted also realizes “emotional clarity” as Robin does in her situation. The gang leaves campus. When Ted and Lily grab snacks at the service station, Ted unjinxes Barney by accident and Barney confides in Ted about his plans to marry Patrice on the roof of the World Wide News building.

In exchange for unjinxing Ted, Barney makes him promise not to tell anyone about his plans or try to dissuade him in his proposal plans. The gang (minus Barney) gets hyped up about Ted’s big skyscraper reveal. Robin agrees to be Ted’s plus one to the ceremony. Mickey gives Marshall and Lily a vacation break Christmas present away from Marvin. Just as Marshall and Lily are about to leave, Ted reveals Barney’s secrets to Marshall, thus breaking the jinx swear as he struggles with the decision to tell Robin about Barney proposal plans. Ted decides that Robin deserves to know, but Marshall advises him not to. Lily has separation anxiety with Marvin. Ted ends up taking Marshall’s advice, to be a little selfish. We get to see Ranjit again! YAY! Ted caves at the end and tells Robin, in case she “wants to do something about it.” Ranjit offers hilarious comic relief as always. Marshall and Lily arrive at Ted’s big event and miss Marvin when they see another cute baby dressed in a suit. Robun reacts in frustration to Ted’s news. Ted brings the limo to the World Wide News building despite Robin’s decision not to intervene with Barney’s plans. Ted tells Robin that sometimes being an ass of yourself for the person you love is worth it, thus giving her and his best bro, his final blessing.

Robin arrives at the roof of the building to find a play titled “The Robin,” describing everything that Barney has done since Robin’s breakup with Nick, all in the pursuit of Robin’s affections. Robin is infuriated with Barney for being lied to and manipulated for weeks. The last step of the play Is Barney’s proposal… and of course, she says, “Yes.” And they kiss over a beautiful snowy rooftop under mistletoe.

The episodes end with a crowd raising a glass to Ted. Marshall and Lily are happily home with Marvin. Robin and Barney are happily in love… but Ted looks out forlornly into the snowy cityscape of New York.

Episode 13 – Band or DJ- Barney and Robin are engaged, FINALLY. Marshall and Lily are stressed over Marvin’s digestive system. Barney and Robin begin to plan the wedding. Lily gets excited about wedding planning to which Ted takes over. Barney is coping with his wedding engagement through panic attacks. Barney meets Robin’s father at a restaurant. At the end of the meal, Robin’s father, the ultimately disapproves of Barney. Ted insists on having a DJ while Lily suggests a band. Barney attempts to bond with Robin’s father where he forces him to kill a bunny… of course Barney chickens out. (No rabbits were harmed in the making of this episode) Robin finds out that her father is remarried from his online status and refuses to invite her father to her wedding because she was never invited to his. Towards the end, Lily pulls Ted onto the roof of their apartment to press him on his displeasure at Barney and Robin’s engagement. Ted can’t bring himself to voice his misery as he would be named the most awful person in the country but Lily gives him an out when she confesses that sometimes she wished she wasn’t a mother. Only after, Ted confesses his true feelings. Coping with her stress as a mother, Lily still feels unfulfilled as an artist and she encourages Ted to accept what he’s been given in his life. At the end, Barney helps Robin reconcile her relationship with her father and she realizes how much Barney loves her. Four months later, Ted bumps into his lesbian ex-girlfriend Cindy and her partner on the subway and rants about the cancellation of the band. Luckily for him, the couple knows a great wedding band available at the last minute. Cindy’s tells him of a band that her ex-roommate is a part of and the episode closes with Ted looking up to the stage at the bass player.

Episode 14 – Ring Up!- Ted is caught wearing a cheesy teenage black leather cuff. He tells the gang that he’s met a girl… but she’s underage so she’s unable to enter the bar. Robin and Barney are in the honeymoon phase of their engagement. Ted later rants to the gang how his teenage girlfriend seems like a completely different species. She turns out to be obsessed with old men. Marshall puts on Ted’s cheesy teenage black leather cuff which turns out to be a turn-on for Lily. Robin finds out that her engagement ring means losing single pretty girl privileges… free coffee, bagels, newspapers, beers, and even houses. Barney’s system is detoxing after years of one-night stands and needs Ted to sleep with the teenager to proxy bang for Barney. Marshall continues to put on a bad-boy image to hype up the romance between him and Lily. Ted shows Barney pictures of the teenager and Barney finds out that Ted has just slept with his half-sister Carly. Marshall and Lily reconcile their romance without the cuff. Lily and Marshall give Robin advice about coping with her loss of single pretty girl privileges. Barney attempts to marry Ted and Carly radically reacting to their one-night stand. Ted points out that Barney’s detox is over. Barney makes Ted and Carly promise to never sleep with each other again, but both wink to their bro and brother as single Barney use to. Robin finally realizes that being in a couple and having that one special person look at you is worth the loss of her single pretty girl status.

Episode 15 – P.S. I Love you- Ted sees a girl on the subway reading the same book as him and obsesses over her with Marshall and Lily at the bar. He later bumps into the anonymous girl when the university where he works has a fire drill. The gang points out that the girl, Jeanette must be a crazy stalker. Ted points out that whether a gesture is charming or alarming depends on whether two people are into each other. Robin ends up telling the gang that there is a fine line between love and obsession. The word stalker slightly bothers Robin as she reveals that she use to be one. The rest of the episode is devoted to Barney’s quest to find out who Robin use to stalk. Barney reads Robin’s old teenage diary with obsessive rants about her mystery man; the entries ending with “P.S. I Love You.” Marshall and Lily hypothesize that Jeanette set a fire so that she could pull the fire drill thus sending Ted and everyone else out the building. Barney flies to Canada to interrogate Robin’s old boyfriends… in Tim Hortons, over doughnuts. Ted ends up finding out that Jeanette really did set a fire. Marshall and Ted dispute over Ted and his new crazy girlfriend. Barney returns with the answer to the question “Who was Robin obsessed with?” Hang on tight cause it’s ROBIN SPARKLES 4 Y’ALL! An old Canadian documentary tells of Robin’s change in music from bubble-gum pop to grunge; a dark and edgy song called P.S. I Love You inspired by her obsession… Barney attacks Alan Thicke, believing that the song is about him and gets beat up. When Robin finds out of Barney’s obsession, he finally admits that anyone can get obsessed. Robin confesses that she was obsessed with Paul Shaffer. Ted is still okay with Jeanette’s crazy antics despite Marshall’s protests and Lily finally tells the gang that she’s been living a lie with the story of her and Marshall. It turns out that she knocked on every single person’s door in her building to find him and create “a little destiny.” Ted finds that Jeanette’s been stalking him for a year and a half since he was on a magazine cover but Ted still goes along with it. Future Ted narrates over the last scene saying, “Before a man meets the woman he’ll marry, he’ll make one final horrible mistake. For me that was Jeanette.”

Okay… that was a really really long recap… the good thing is, events are picking up. Favourite funny moment of this recap was Barney and the cuckoo-clock when Ted first describes his first encounter with Jeanette. Last recap to come soon!

***For those of you who are more interested in my Japanese manga and anime review… many new manga reviews are coming! I promise!